Portland nursing home neglects to protect resident

Portland nursing home neglects to protect resident

Jan 12, 2009

A $2 million lawsuit was filed on December 29, 2008 against Healthcare at Foster Creek, a nursing home in SE Portland, for neglecting to protect a 61-year-old resident with dementia from being sexually abused by a 68-year-old male resident with a lesser degree of dementia and a criminal history.

The 61-year-old woman was in no state to be able to consent to adult activities of that nature and for months after the incident had refused to eat and had been prone to episodes of crying.

The suit also mentions that at Healthcare at Foster Creek, 38 substantiated complaints of nursing home abuse and neglect had been reported in the last four years. In 2008 Healthcare at Foster Creek hadbeen notified of pending fines at least four times. Government authorities inspect nursing homes once a year.

Healthcare at Foster Creek is in the 37% of Oregon nursing homes ranking either below or much below average in performance reviews. In Washington, 42% of nursing homes have received sub par rankings.

To compare performance information on nursing homes in the United States, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site www.medicare.gov/nhcompare.